Gudgei — Notes on some Beaufort, N. C, Fishes. 103 



gray above, cream below. They arc now on deposit in the Beaufort 



laboratory. 



Prior to this there arc only 2 records of the taking of this sturgeon in 

 Beaufort waters. In 1877 Yarrow reported its capture in North River 

 some 4 or 5 miles from Beaufort. Smith ( 11)07) in April, 1904, saw three 

 small specimens taken in the ocean at Cape Lookout. However, Mr. 

 Coles informs me that the young are very common at Cape Lookout 

 where they are taken in sink nets in March or early April in such num- 

 bers as to be at times unsaleable. He has seen the beach there covered 

 with those that had been thrown away. Jordan (1886) reports tjie 

 occurrence also of the sharp-nosed sturgeon A. brevirostrum in Beaufort 

 waters. 



The long-nosed sturgeon reaches a large size in our Sounds. In the 

 summer of 1906 I examined at Hatteras the skins of 2 specimens which 

 were reported by Dr. Davis, at whose fish wharf they were lying, to have 

 been 9 and 11 feet long respectively. They were taken in Pamlico Round. 



Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus). 



GAR PIKE; LONG-NOSED GAR; "SHELL GAR." 

 I have previously (1910, 1912a) noted the prevalence of gars at the head 

 of the estuary of Newport River. This season they were more abundant 

 than ever, very greatly to the annoyance of the fishermen. Their occur- 

 rence in such numbers is probably to be explained on the ground that the 

 water was almost fresh, due to the excessively heavy rainfall of the 

 preceding weeks. Although the fish were in prime condition, neither milt 

 nor spawn could be obtained by vigorous pressure. 



Teleostei. 

 Felichthys felis (Linnaeus). 



GAFF-Ti »PSAIL CAT-FISH. 



In (J seasons' seining for these cat-fish in Newport River they have never 

 been found so scarce as in the last days of May, 1912. This is probably 

 due to the extraordinarily heavy rainfall which immediately preceded my 

 visit to Beaufort. The total rainfall from May 6-22 inclusive was 7.51 

 inches; the precipitation being 1.17 inches on May 6, 2.09 inches on 12, 

 1.74 on 13, and 1.31 on May 22, the day of my arrival. This so freshened 

 the head of the estuary that the cat-fish were scattered over the wide 

 reaches of the 1. iwer and more salt river. Confirmatory of this conclusion 

 was the report of some of the menhaden fishermen that unusual numbers 

 of cat-fish were taken in their seines outside. A female caught at the 

 Narrows on May 23 had a large number of empty follicles in her ovary 

 showing that oviposition had already begun. 



Eel— species unknown. 

 It may not lie amiss to note that an unidentified male eel, taken at the 

 Narrows of Newport River on May 24, had a greatly enlarged testis 

 extending forward through the whole length of the abdomen to the 

 anterior end of the stomach. 



